Where Where The Longbows

[Hoyt]

In the post "Question for all you "Old Timers" the question was asked "What bows were you hunting with before '75?"

Reading through the post I don't recognize many if any longbows..Just wondering when longbows really became so popular for hunting?

I don't recall ever seeing any of my hunting friends with one or any at the Field Round or Animal Round archery tournaments back in the 60's and early 70's.

Howard Hill was about the only one that comes to mind for me back then.

I think my first real bow may have been a longbow..it was an Indian Archery bow I think..been a while..50's..it was about 30lbs. and solid fiberglass. That's the only one I've ever shot or had a chance to if it was.

[Panzer]

Could it be that many people started shooting recurves because they were easier to shoot and were cut to center, making arrow selection less critical. Just wondering especially since Hill,  Dan Quillan an others were big advocates of the Longbow.

[Hoyt]

I don't know Panzer. Back in the 60's and maybe into the early 70's as far as I can remember the times I shot with Dan he was using a recurve.

[Cory Mattson]

75 everyone shot a recurve - of the 40 or so people I knew who owned a hunting bow none had a longbow and it seemed to be that way since 1970 (maybe earlier but I started studying in 70) - that was the peak of recurve use where I lived and I was fighting the legalization of the compound at that time. I think the compound was leagalized in 76 and within a year of that zero recurves were carried in ordinary sporting goods stores. But compound or not the longbow was not popular in 1975 - not  like now.

[Panzer]

I only base that on an article that I read in "Traditional Bowhunter" where Mr. Quillan  said that a Longbow was the best bow for hunting. Then again I could be wrong, been a while since I read that article.

[jsweka]

Back in the 60's and early 70's, the recurve was the most technologically advanced bow until the compound started hitting the scene.  The term "Traditional Archery" wasn't coined yet, so guys just gravitated toward what they thought was the best type of bow.

The resurgance of the longbow today is probably due to the romance of the thing, but then guys realized that they are very effective weapons.  Heck, when I was a teenager in the late 1980s and early 1990s hardly anybody shot traditional bows where I grew up.  One day at a 3D shoot, there were a couple of guys shooting traditional bows - one had a Black Widow and the other had a Howard Hill. I was amazed, but I think I insulted the guy with the longbow when I asked him if it had enough power to kill a deer.  I was a dumb teenager.

[ChrisM]

First off I was not there so the following is merely opinion formed from general research into archery.  First the english style longbow that you or a craftsman made was the only type of bow available.  Then there was a good mix of static tips and longbows.  Whne fiberglass and a working recurve came out the recurve took off and with Bears marketing everyone wanted a recurve.  Now I shoot a Hill Longbow and will a
Say that a working limb recurve like what is available is a great shooter and easy to learn.  So I figure the new guys went with the recurves.  Also just like now the need for speed was ever present hince the birth of the compound.  Nowadays what people call a longbow isn't the same as back then.  Its a great comprimise between stability and speed.  So the amount of people shooting an original style longbow is still very little.

[Sean B]

This is pretty good observation.  Im 44, although dad wasn't a bow hunter, I remember having a few longbows laying around.  Not sure what they were or really knowing anything about them.  They had leather wrapped grips and a small "shelf" attached to the side.  The limbs were flat and somewhat wide.  Wish I still had a few of them.

[centaur]

My first bow was also an Indian fiberglass longbow that I got in the 50's. But when I started deer hunting, it was a recurve for me. Fred Bear's fame and his hunting segments on "The American Sportsman" probably had a lot to do with my choice, but I don't remember anybody shooting a longbow back then.
Now, all I own are longbows; back to the future.

[Meathook 1]

First Bow in the 60s was a glass LB,then I saw Fred Bear,52" 50# K Mag still have them both.Ive shot for a couple Lg Compound companys over the years.Im back to my Longbows.
Even started my Granddaughter out with a stick bow at 3yrs old.Thats pretty good especially when her Mom and Dad and Uncle shoot Wheelies.

[Tater]

Started shooting hunting weight laminated bows in the late "60's" no one I knew owned a Longbow.

    I was in a local archery shop in the early "80's" and there was a Longbow for sale on consignment, I picked it up and looked it over shot some arrows out of it and that started my journey with the Longbow.

   That bow was an "American Longbow" by John Schultz..!

[BCWV]

I never saw a hunting weight longbow in my neck of the woods during the 60s and 70s, only the small kids style, light poundage ones. Not saying there wasn't any. Of course, I was limited to Outdoor Life and Field and Stream for any information out of my small area. I didn't go any farther from the house than I wanted to walk back  :D

[Stumpkiller]

Here are some thoughts that may not be correct:

When bowhunters became "traditional bowhunters" at the time the compound was inroduced there were maybe fourteen recurves for every longbow/flatbow.  At that time twelve of every fourteen of the recurve users switched to compounds.  So, the number of longbow shooters didn't change much and there became a glut of used recurves.

There are definately more longbow shooters today than I remember seeing or hearing about in the 60's and 70's, but the lines of communication are better with the Internet to gather many like spirits so there may have been a quiet minority holding out in other places that waited for the bowhunting pendulum to swing back.

If I shot a longbow better I would carry one.  I like the looks and concept.  I tried for 5 years to get good with one.  Still have it.

[cahaba]

I was in high school from 1972 to 1976. Me and a friend of mine would get out of school at 2:45 and we would be in the woods by 3:00 p.m. He was shooting a Browning Nomad and I was shooting a Jerry Hill longbow.
 
  I thought that Jerry was the only person that made longbows. If i hadn't been friends with Jerry I would have no doubt been shooting a recurve.

  Our local Western Auto Hardware Store carried recurves them. I got Outdoor Life magazine but didn't know if any bowhunting magazines existed? Our local hardware carried magazines too.

[Blackhawk]

When I began hunting in the early '60's, the vast majority (maybe 14-1 like Stump said) was all using recurves.  The one longbow shooter I personally knew was a cousin shooting a solid fiberglass Ben Pearson at 55 pounds...and what a beast to shoot.

I would venture to say they were two major reasons for the dominance of the recurve.  One was the fact they were much more widely available.  A second reason was those longbows of the era were tough to master and not too much fun to shoot.

[reddogge]

As I mentioned in 1955 at 11 I was given a longbow. After that in the 60s I never saw one longbow at any club or field, ever. Never even heard of anyone shooting one.

[Hoyt]

Originally posted by Panzer:
I only base that on an article that I read in "Traditional Bowhunter" where Mr. Quillan  said that a Longbow was the best bow for hunting. Then again I could be wrong, been a while since I read that article.

You are right..I wasn't contradicting you..just meant that when I knew Dan in the 60's and early 70's I don't think he had gravitated towards the longbows yet.

[tippit]

I remember seeing my first Hunting Longbow in my family's Wisconsin deer camp in 1979.  I bought my first longbow (Tim Meigs) from a young fellow (Ron LaClair) in 1980.  In 1983 "The Longbow" newspaper came on...all of 4 pages for $1.00!  There were a total of 8 bowyer classifieds listed.  The hunting weights were pretty much 65-80+ pounds.

Bill Bagwell was Editor & R.B. Huges was publisher...both now Hall Of Fame Master Bladesmiths.  It was published 6 times per year.

I fell in in Love for the second time...my wife was first!  tippit

 

It may not have been common, but it still took five months from order to delivery to get a Hill in those days.

[eflanders]

The first bows I remember shooting were the all fiberglass bows we shot in gym class and/or in boy scouts. I still remember getting fiberglass slivers in my hand from these "indestructable" bows and arrows.  From there we moved up to a Bear recurve.  Then once the first compounds came out, both of these bows basically disappeared from the common store shelves and/or were heavily discounted. It was  a great time to buy much of the original Bear bows and gear.